The City of Cape Town’s Traffic Service, Metro Police and Law Enforcement Departments arrested 286 offenders and issued 73 179 fines during enforcement operations the past week. Metro Police officers also arrested a suspect out on parole for housebreaking and related charges.
Metro Police officers arrested 113 suspects and issued 2 475 fines during patrols and operations in the past week.
In one of the latest successes, they arrested five suspects for the illegal possession of drugs and ammunition in Lansdowne on Sunday 10 October 2021.
Officers were conducting crime prevention patrols when they received information from the public about illegal drug activities at a premises in the area.
They sought permission to conduct a search of the premises, and with the help of K9s Khaos and Leia, found drugs in the kitchen cupboards and ammunition hidden in the backyard, behind a dust bin.
The suspects, aged between 36 and 53 were detained at SAPS in Lansdowne. Officers confiscated 59 live rounds of ammunition and 35 mandrax tablets which were booked in at SAPS for further investigation.
On Saturday, 9 October 2021 Metro Police officers were conducting crime prevention patrols in the Strand and Lwandle areas. They arrested eight suspects for various crimes, including driving while under the influence of alcohol, possession of drugs, possession of a dangerous weapon, disobeying a lawful instruction and riotous behaviour. The suspects, aged between 22 and 42, were detained at the respective police stations in the areas.
On Friday, 8 October 2021, officers on patrol in Woodstock noticed two males who were acting in a suspicious manner.
The duo ran away when they saw officers approaching. During the subsequent chase, one of the suspects pulled a firearm from his waistband and threw it over a wall into a security complex.
Officers recovered the handgun and found it to be an imitation firearm with one live .38 special round stuck in the barrel.
The 29-year-old man was arrested for unlawful possession of live ammunition, possession of an imitation firearm and possession of drugs. It was later confirmed by Woodstock SAPS that the suspect was released on parole for house breaking and related charges.
‘The arrest by our officers of habitual offenders poses a real challenge. Our officers arrests suspects out on parole or with a criminal record on a regular basis and hand them over to SAPS so that they can be charged and have their day in court. This is an ongoing challenge and threatens to dilute the efforts of officers on the ground. More alarmingly, it threatens to further erode the trust of communities in enforcement, because suspects are back on the streets so soon after being arrested.
We really do need to start focusing on tightening up our criminal justice system, but also efforts to help prevent parolees from falling back into a life of crime,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
Law Enforcement
Officers issued 4 809 fines and arrested 103 suspects on various charges. Officers attached to the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan accounted for 91 arrests. Officers also issued 417 fines to individuals for failing to wear a mask in a public place, as directed by the National Disaster Management Act.
Officers also joined forces with the SPCA, resulting in three arrests linked to illegal dogfighting in Atlantis. More information is available here: https://www.capetown.gov.za/Media-and-news/Dog%20fighters%20arrested%20in%20joint%20sting%20operation
Traffic Service
The City’s traffic officers impounded 103 vehicles and 135 cell phones and issued 65 895 fines. Officers also arrested 70 suspects for vehicle and road safety offences during weekly operations.